Method and means for cooling oil



April 26, 1932. A. M. NIVEN METHOD AND MEANS FOR COOLING OIL Filed July 2'7. 192'? INENTOR fire w .mcpzaz l Mven Patented Apr. 2%,

ARCHIE MACPHAIL NIVEN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T CONTINENTAL MOTORS CORPORATION, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA Application filed July 27, 1927. Serial No. 208,719.

This invention relates to internal combustlon engines and refers more particularly to an improved method and means for cooling the lubricating oil for the working parts of the engine.

It is an object of my invention to provide a method and apparatus whereby the lubricating oil may be cooled by air supplied to the engine carburetor. By cooling the oil the working parts of the engine will be lubricated more efficiently and also the useful life of the oil will be prolonged. At the same time my invention provides means for heating the air supplied to the carburetor, the

s heat being derived from the oil by a heat exchange apparatus. By such a method and apparatus the cost of running the engine is reduced and the general operating efliciency thereof increased.

By utilizing the air supplied to the engine as the medium for cooling the oil the amount of cooling is in proportion to the engine throttle open1ng and hence under conditlons of increasing engine speed or lncreaslng power generated the resulting increasing quantity of air supplied to the engine will automatically oppose the tendency toward undesirable increase in the temperature of the oil. 80 My invention may be in the nature of a simply constructed attachment for engines and may be manufactured quite cheaply. When desired my invention may include, in addition to the oil cooling device, an air cleaner and a carburetor silencer as will be hereinafter described.

With the above and other objects in view my invention further resides in the novel combination and arrangement of parts more particularly hereinafter described and claimed. Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof and in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of an engine showing my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation view through the heat exchange device and associated parts,

Fig. 3 is asectional View of the heat exchange device through 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic viewof a modified form of my invention.

In the drawings reference character A represents an internal combustion engine having the intake manifold 10 and carburetor 11. which parts may be of the ordinary or other preferred construction.

Connected with the air intake 12 of the carburetor is a casing B which may consist of the air discharge end 13 and an enlarged end 14 connected through an intermediate tapering portion 15. Within the casing B is formed a header or heat exchange device C illustrated as comprising end plates 16, 17 connected by air conducting tubes 18. The tubes 18 may be of greater diameter in one direction than another in order to present efficient heat transfer surfaces between the oil and air as will be presently understood. Adjacent tubes may also be oppositely inclined and staggered. The engine lubricating oil ordinarily circulated under pressure from the crank case supply to the engine parts is caused to pass through the heat ex-' change device C. Thus the usual oil pump 19 may be utilized to force the oil under pressure from crank case 20 and conduit 21 to the heat exchange supply line 22 and inlet 23 whence the oil is-spread in a film over the uppermost air tube 18. By referring to Fig. 3- it will be apparent that the oil in passing from the inlet 23 to the outlet 24 will fiow across the successive intervening tubes 18 in a zigzag fashion the tubes in effect acting as baffles because of their staggered relation. During the course of travel of the oil the air sucked through tubes 18 by the engine acting through manifold 10 and carburetor 11 will absorb sufficient heat from the oil to accomplish'the objects in view. Not only will the oil temperature be reduced and kept within the desirable limits so as to prevent premature deterioration of the oil and inefficient lubrication, but furthermore the heat given up by the oil is not wasted but is utilized in heating the air supplied for the fuel mixture tending to more readily vaporize the fuel and generally better the engine performance.

Thus this feature of my invention is especially useful with the present day fuelsof relatively low volatility or with the so called liquid fuels. ,In certain cases it may be found desirable to pass the fuel through the heat exchange device instead of the air as will be readily understood, thus effecting cooling of the oil and heating of the fuel for rendering the latter more volatile. The outlet 24 is connected with the usual oil pressure feed line 25 leading to the parts of the engine to be lubricated.

If desired the casing B may contain air cleaning means such as air filter screens 26. One convenient form of this feature of my invention is shown in Fig. 2, the screens 26 being spaced to receive suitable material such as aluminum chips 27 which will silence the tendency of the carburetor to sing or become otherwise noisy due to the rush of air. I desire it to be understood that the air filter and carburetor silencer features of my invention may be omitted if desired since obviously the oil cooling device will function Bqfilally well without these features. The w ole assemby of the oil cooler, air filter, and carburetor silencer, where desired, may be constructed cheaply from metal stampings with soldered, or welded joints for the air tubes 18 and end plates 16, 17.

In Fig. 4 the oil pump 19 is arranged to produce a suction of the oil from the crank case supply line 21 and heat exchan e device C, whence the cooled oil may pass as efore to the pressure line 25. Also, if desired, a bypass 28 may be rovided around the heat exchange device 8, suitably controlled as by the two-way valves 29, so that in very cold weather, for example, the oil may be passed directly from the crank case to the engine parts to be lubricated. Such a vby-pass may, of course, also be incorporated with the system' shown in Fig. 1. The valve or valves 29 might be operated by mechanism under control at the automobile dash where the system is used in automotive vehicles.

My invention is especially useful in engines operating under relatively great load or relatively hlgh temperature as in busses,

trucks, and stationary engines operating for long periods of time. During the summer months it is particularly desirable that the oil temperature be kept down. However my invention will be found desirable under general operating conditions of engines of various types. In relatively cold weather the heat absorbed by the fuel mixture air will better the all round performance of the engine. If desired the valves 29 may be adjusted to open the by-pass 28 (where the bypass is included in the system) for cold weather engine starting, and after the engine and oil are brought up to operating temperature the valves 29 may be closed to pass the oil through the heat exchange device to obtain the benefit of the air heating feature even though the oil temperature be not excessive.

It is desirable to proportion the combined cross sectional area of the air tubes 18 so that such total area will be at least equal to the carburetor air inlet plus an allowance suflicientfor friction loss of air through the tubes.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, means for supplying air for combustion purposes to said engine, means for supplying oil to the engine for lubricating purposes, a device constructed and arranged for effecting a heat exchange between the air and lubricating oil, and a b -pass in said lubricant supply means aroun the said heat exchange device whereby the lubricant may be passed either through the by-pass or through the heat exchange device.

2. In an internal combustion engine, means for supplying a fluid for combustion purposes to said engine, means for supplyin oil to the engine for lubrication purposes, a eat exchange device constructed and arranged for effecting a heat transfer between the oil and fluid, and a by-pass in said oil su ply means for by-passing the oil around the eat exchange device.

3. The combination with an internal combustion engine having a fuel and air mixin device including an air supply conduit an engine lubricant supply conduit, of a heat exchange device interposed in the air su ply conduit and the lubricant supply con uit, said heat exchange device comprising a casing having flattened air conducting tubes extending therethrough and lubricant inlet and outlet openings communicating with the said lubricant supply conduit.

4. The combination with an internal combustion engine having a fuel and air mixing device including an an supply conduit and an engine lubricant supply conduit, of a heat exchange device inte osed in the air supply conduit and the lubrlcant supply conduit, said heat exchange device comprising a casing havin flattened relativelyinclinedairconducting tu es therethrough and having lubricant inlet and outlet openings communicatin with the said lubricant supply conduit, sai tubes being staggered in the direction of the travel of lubricant through the casing.

' 5. In combination with an internal com bustion engine having a carburetor, a casing 1 attached to the carburetor, air'conductin tubes extending through said casing, an means for introducing lubricating oil into the casing for passage therethrough in contact with the air tubes, said tubes being relatively inclined and staggered in the direction of travel of the oil through the casing.

6. The combination with an internal combustion engine carburetor and an engine lubricating oil supply line, of a casing structure connected with the carburetor for supplying air thereto, means within the casing for effecting a heat transfer between the oil and air, and means within the casing for cleaning the air heated by the said heat eX change device.

7. The combination'with an internal combustion engine carburetor and an engine lubricating oil supply line, of a casing structure connected with the carburetor for supplying air thereto, means Within the casing for effecting a heat transfer between the oil and air, and means within the casing intermediate the heat exchange means and the connection of the casing with the carburetor for cleaning the air heated by the heat exchange means before passage of the air to the carburetor.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 22nd day of July, A. D. 1927.

ARCHIE MACPHAIL NIVEN. 

